As she shuts down the machine, removing the paper from the printer, replacing the dusty cover on the top, she listens to the low murmur of Robin’s voice. She’s noticed his West Country burr is more pronounced, even after just a few hours here. She wonders if Mrs French is still around and willing to share more stories of the young Robin Butler. Ammunition for a gentle piss-take, she thinks. Or maybe to get out of the more boring admin.

‘Are we finished?’ Robin says from behind her.

She jumps slightly, as if he could read her mind. ‘Yeah. What did Craig say?’

He sighs, a noise of frustration and annoyance. ‘She won’t tell me much, except that they’re going to interview Sophie today. And they’ve got his hard drive from the university.’

‘What help would the hard drive be?’ Freya asks.

‘Papers he was working on. Motive,’ he says grimly. ‘They found the cameras they were using inside the van. But they weren’t recording internally – streaming live via satellite, so any footage was stored remotely.’ He shrugs. ‘More secure, I guess.’

‘So it could show what happened?’

‘Maybe. Except they can’t find the file.’ He sighs again. ‘Anyway. Shall we go and check into the hotel, before dinner at Sandra’s tonight?’

‘Yes, good idea.’ Freya’s knackered. A cup of tea, a biscuit and a collapse on the bed is what she needs right now. ‘Are you sure you’re okay with me coming?’

Robin called Sandra earlier, letting her know they were on their way, and she invited them both to dinner. Freya relishes the thought of a home-cooked meal, but feels like she might be intruding on a long-overdue catch-up.

‘Of course,’ Robin replies with a smile. ‘You’ll love Sandra. Just don’t let her interrogate you. She’ll want to know everything.’

They finish tidying and Freya hands Robin the printouts. He puts them in his bag, both repeating their thanks to Mrs French as they leave.

Freya’s looking forward to meeting Sandra. And she knows that with this interrogation, the information’s going to be flowing both ways. Perhaps there’s still a chance to get that gossip about Robin.

33

Sophie regrets agreeing to this police interview. Even more so that she came alone, without a solicitor. It seemed such an overreaction, to bring a legal representative when she hasn’t done anything wrong.

But this room is so formal – the video running, the detectives stern – that she has misgivings about her decision. They’ve said that she’s free to leave at any time, but they made her sign paperwork and the door’s closed and she doesn’t feel free. Not at all.

She’s tired and on edge. She can’t sleep. Even her usual yoga and meditation aren’t working.